Apparatus for bending pipe.



No. 785,083. 7 PATENTED MAR. 21, 1905. L. H. BRINKMAN.

APPARATUS FOR BENDING PIPE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.16. 1904. V

\A/m cnesses Inventor YQOBDT Gm v A LouisHBr kmcln Eng Hovney UNITED STATES,

Patented March-21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE LOUIS H. BRINKMAN, OF WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, -ASSIGrNO-R TO WHITLOCK COIL PIPE COMPANY,- OF WEST HARTFORD, CON- NECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOB BENDING PIPE.'

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 785,083, dated March 21, 1905.

Application filed December 16, 1904. Serial No 237,067.

To-aZZ whom it' may concern:

Be it known thatI, LOUIS H. BRINKMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Bending- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my;

7 apparatus at the beginning of the operation.

Fig. 2 represents the same after a semicircular bend has been given to a pipe. Fig. 3 represents a front view. Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical central. sectional view of the upper half of the burner with the plane of the section at right angles to the axis of the pipe. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional 'view' of the upper half of the burner with the. plane of the section parallel to the axis of the pipe,

and Fig. 6 is a detached view showing the shape and position of the supporting-rolls with reference to the pipe.

Similar reference letters and figures refer to similar parts in the different views.

The object of my present invention isto provide an improved apparatus for bending metal pipe, especially pipe of the larger sizes,

' without requiring the pipe to be filled to re- 3O sist any crushing strain incident to the process of bending. and which will enable the pipe to be uniformly and gradually bent by, the automatic action of the bending apparatus.

My invention relates to improvements'upon the pipe-bending apparatus described and claimed in my application Serial No. 208,09 allowed Novemberflt), 1904:. In that apparatus I feed a pipe, supported in a horizontal position and held from displacement by the bending strain, longitudinally past aheating apparatus adapted to successively heat limited sections of it, and at the same time I hold the advancing end of the pipe at a fixed distance from a point concentric with the curvature of the pipe, which may be determined as desired, and I also provide means -forimmediatelyco ling the bent portion as, it is fed past the heating apparatus in order to preserve its curvature.

My improvement relates to means for adgusting the annular burner to make it concentric with different sizes of pipe, to means to insure uniformity ofv curvature and to prevent distortion and flatten ingof the pipe under the bending strain, which is especially advantageouswhen the curvature of the pipe is to exceed ninety degrees, to means for 1111'? equally :heating the periphery of the pipe, and also to means for controlling the advance movement of the pipe, and I accomplish these results by the construction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the annexed claims. 7

' Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 1 denote vertical posts mounted on a baseA. Suitably supported by a frame 2 at the'rear of the posts is a grooved roll 3. Adjustably attached to the posts 1 1 above and in front of the roll 3 are brackets 4, in which is journaled a similar grooved roll 5. (Shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.) The roll 5 may be vertically adjusted to fit pipe of varying sizes received horizontally between the rolls. These rolls serve for a support for the pipe to be bent and also by their grooved shape prevent lateral movement of the pipe, as shown by Fig.

11, passing over a wheel '12. vThisiforward movement of thepipe is resisted by a radial rod 13, the lower end of which is provided with a hook 14, which is inserted in the end 15 of the pipe 16 to be 'bent. On the other end 17 of the radial rod 13 is a hook 18, which is inserted in a hole 19, in a plate 20, carried by a rock-shaft 21, journaled in brackets 22, projecting from the plate 23, which is adjustably mounted on the posts 1 1 at a suitable distance above the grooved rolls 3 and 5 to give the desired curvature to the pipe under the bending strain exerted by the radial rod 13 as the pipe is pushed forward. By the adjustment of the plate 23 on the postal 1 the distance. from the end 15 of the pipe 16 and the plate may be. increased or diminished and a longer or shorter radial rod inserted to vary the curvature of the pipe. The plate 20 is also provided with other holes, 19 and 19", similar to the hole 19 and arranged at intervals near its periphery. When the pipe has been advanced under the bending strain exerted by the radial rod 13 sufiiciently to make the curvature of the pipe greater than ninety degrees, the downward strain exerted by the radial rod 13 then has a tendency to distort the pipe at its softest section within the burner, due to the downward pull of the rod 13. To obviate this distortion, I attach to the section of the pipe just emerging from theburner a second radial rod 24, the other end of which is provided with a hook 25, which is inserted in one of the holes in the plate 20. This second radial rod 24 is attached to the pipe 16 by semicircular bands 26 and bolts 27, and it is also provided with a turnbuckle 28, by which its length may be adjusted to the desired degree of curvature of the pipe. As the pipe is still further bent a third radial rod 29 may be similarly attached, enabling the bending of the pipe to-be continued to produce a semicircular or return bend, as shown in Fig. 2.

Pivoted on plates 30, fastened to the posts 1 1 between the rolls 3 and 5, are arms 31, in the free ends of which are journaled gudgeons 32 of an annular gas-burner 33, by means of which I heat a portion of the pipe 16 to reduce its resistance to a bending strain. The annular gas-burner forms no part of my present invention and is substantially like that described and claimed in my pendingapplication Serial No. 234,018. By means of the gas-burner I am enabled to surround a portion of the pipe with an annular mass of flame inclosed within the chamber 34, Fig. 4, which is fed by the pipes 35 36 37, by which gas and air under pressure are admitted to the chambers .38 and 39, there intermingled, and ignited in the chamber 34. Air under pressure enters the burner by the pipes 35 and 37, and gas under pressure is supplied by the pipe 36. The outer ends of these pipes are connected with the sources of air and gas supply by the pipes 40, which are preferably constructed of flexible material to allow the burner to be adjusted vertically to fit varying sizes of pipe tobe bent. I cool the heated portion of the pipe after it is bent by jets of water fromthe annular chamber conveniently inclosed in the burner, as shown at 41, Fig. 5, through the holes 42. Also communicating with the chamber 41 is a pipe 43, having a stop-cock '44, said pipe 43 being extended over'the top of the burner and arranged to deliver water from tached to the base A.

said chamber 41 upon the top of the pipeat 45 immediately before itenters the burner in order to reduce the heat of this portion of the pipe relatively to the remaining periphery of the pipe, so that the resistance of the pipe to the bending strain on the inside of its curvature will prevent the buckling or wrinkling of'the pipe due to upsetting. I

Pivotally attached to the arms 31 are rods 46, the other ends of which are pivotally at- These rods 46 are provided with turnbuckles 47 by means of which the arms 31 and burner 33 may be raised or lowered to bring the annular burner coucen-' tric to the pipe.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows; The pipe to be bent is inserted between the rolls 3 and 5,.after the proper adjustment of the roll 5 has been made, and is-fed longitudinally through the annular burner 33, the necessary adjustment of the rods 46 having been made by a turnbuckle 47, by the, pushing-plate 6, and hydraulic cylinder 9. The end 15 of the pipe 16 is engaged by the hook 14 of a radial rod of a length necessary toafford the desired degree of curvature to the pipe 16, and the plate 23 is adjusted vert cally to allow the hook 18 'on the other end 17. of the radial rod 13 to be inserted in the hole 19. When the pipe 16, by continued pressure of the pushing-plate 6, forms a bend of about ninety degrees, a second radial rod .24 is attached to the pipe near the burner and the book 25 of said radial rod 24 inserted in the hole 19. The required length of the radial rod 24 is secured by adjustment of the turnbuckle 28. As the pipe 16 continues to bend a third radial rod is employed, as shown in Fig. 2. As the pipe passes beyond the chamber 34 of the annular burner 33 the pipe is cooled and the curvature retained by the streams of water .fiowing fromthe chamber 41 through the holes 42. I

By increasing the number of radial rods, as above described, I am enabled to bend nearly a complete circle without danger of flattening or distorting the portion of the pipe softened by thenheat from the burner, which would otherwise tend to'oceur from the downward strain of a single radial rod in the end of the pipe. I also adjust the height of the annular burner by the rod 46 and turnbuckle 47 and thereby maintainthe burner concentric with pipes of different diameters. The rear end of the pipe is held from lateral movement by the pushing-plate, and as the pushingplate moves in ways on the frame 2 the lonbent and on opposite sides, means for imparting a longitudinal movement to said pipe between said supports, means for applying a pulling strainto the advancing end of the. pipe, and means ,for' applying pulling strains successively at other pointsin the pipe as it is bent, the numberof such points increasing withgtheincreasegin its curvature, all such strains being toward a point concentric with a supports toward a fixed point concentric with 'the desired curvature of the pipe, means for the desired curvature of the pipe.

2. In an apparatus for 'bending'pipe, the combination with a framework, .two fixed supports in difierent planes adapted to receive the pipe to be bent, means .for heating a section of the pipe contiguous to one of said supports, means for imparting a longitudinal movementto the pipe between said supports,

.means for maintaining. both the advancing 3. In an apparatus for bending pipe, the;

combination of a framework, a pair of supports arranged to bear against opposite sides of the pipe to be bent and in different planes,

means for moving the pipe. longitudinally, means for heating a section of" the pipe between said supports and its advancing end,

' and a series of radial rods adapted-to be suc- I planes and arranged to bear against opposite sides of the pipe to be bent, means for moving thepipe longitudinallybetween said supports,-means for applying a pulling strain to thepipe behind said supports and toward a fixed point concentric with the desired curvature of the pipe, an annular burner for heatand means for raising or lowering said annu- [lar burner in order to maintain said burner concentric with the pipe to be bent.

5. In an apparatus for bending pipe.,-'the combination of a pair of supports in diflerent planes and arranged to bear against opposite sides of the pipe to be bent, means for applying a pulling strain to the pipe behind said heating a section of the pipe behind said supports, means for imparting a longitudinal movement to the pipe, and means for controlling the longitudinal movement of the pipe in a right line.

6, In an apparatus for bending pipe, the combination with apair of rolls arranged-to bear against opposite sides of the pipe and in different planes, means for heating a limited portion of the pipe behind said rolls, means for applying a bending strain to the pipe behind said rolls, a pushing-plate bearing against the end of the pipe in front of therolls, means for moving said plate to impart a longitudinal movement to the pipe between said rolls, and ways for said pushing-plate parallel with the longitudinal movement of the pipe.

7. In an apparatus for bending pipe, the combination'with means for imparting a longitudinal movement to the pipe to be bent, means for applying a bending strain to the pipe, means for successively heating limited portions of the pipe, and means for applying a cooling liquid to the pipe as it approaches the heating means and on the side subjected to upsetting strains during the process of bending.

Dated thisl2th day of December, 1904.

. LOUIS H. BRINKMAN.

Witnesses:

EDWARD D. REDFIELD, FRANK B. SMI'r L 

